So I thought I’d share photos from our wedding to show what I mean. I guess you could say I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Is that how it goes? I’m TERRIBLE with American idioms. But that’s a subject for a whole other post!

Cent and I met at Disneyworld, so after we were engaged, on a trip to Disneyland, I picked up these bride and groom Mickey hats.

And had our names embroidered. A pair of Mickey ears is incomplete without your name on the back!

I DIY-ed our programs and used the monogram of sorts from our invitations on the front of our program.

In addition to honoring my heritage and doing the Filipino traditions of Cord, Veil, and Coins, we also jumped the broom.

I have a feeling that Jumping the Broom will become even more popular with the movie coming out this weekend. Back when we were planning the online resources were few and far between!

Our bridal party was awesome. Enough said.

So the groom’s cake was a surprise for Cent. We had talked about it, but never really set it in stone. I had casually asked him what his favorite video game and system was…and this was brought to life:

Yes, we had a blue cake. I encourage brides to think outside of the white cake box and be bold! When Nikki told me her cake was going to be orange I was so excited. I told her mine had been blue! I totally get brides who love thinking outside the box.

Each of our tables were marked with Disney Movies instead of numbers. The head table was Lilo & Stitch. Other tables included The Lion King, Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid.

And below you’ll see at every place setting a Martha Stewart paper pom pom. I must have made at least 200, and at the time I didn’t know how I wanted to use them. I just gave bags full to our coordinator. I love that they became napkin rings. Later, the girls put them in their hair! See my tutorial here.

I’m a huge believer that your wedding should be about YOU, the bride and groom. I think that your personalities and relationship should be reflected through and through. With hints of who you were, who you are, and who you will become as a couple. There are so many way that this can be done – from the invitations to the ceremony to the favors and all the elements of the reception. And this doesn’t mean that your wedding has to be grandiose, I’ve totally seen weddings where most of the items were DIY projects that turned out beautifully. Having DIY’ed some of the items for our wedding, I will say that DIY-ing is not for the faint of heart – it’s A LOT of work! But when done right, definitely worth the effort.

So let your personalities shine!

Happy Thursday!

[All photos by Travis Hoehne]

A new series I’m participating in: Thursday Tips! Check out these posts for photography advice and be sure to visit Lauren at Every Last Detail, Jenna & Elizabeth at Little Bit Heart, Becky at Bowties and Bliss, Lauren at Love Milk and Honey, Mel at The Oceanside Bride, Colleen at Soundtrack To I Do, Shay Cochrane Photography, and Stremel Photography for more great wedding planning tips + more.

what next?

1. Share this with brides you know!
2. Subscribe to our new monthly e-zine: tips from the best in the industry on creating a stress-free wedding that honors your relationship and, most importantly, building a lasting wonderful marriage.  Leave a comment below or click here to sign up.
3. See more inside scoop with other posts on wedding advice for brides & grooms here.

I just met Emily last week and I can tell you she is not only a fabulous hair and makeup artist, but she’s also so fun to be around! She used to live and work in Los Angeles, so we quickly related through our California connection. We were lucky enough to have Emily on board to do some hair and makeup for the Dallas PhotogShootout (which I’ll be posting this week!).

Check out some of Emily’s work from Friday:

Working her magic on our lovely model, Erica.

And the end results!

And on a photographer’s note, let me just say how important it is to have awesome hair and makeup that not only makes you look and feel fabulous, but will last all day long through the all the photos, your tears of joy, and of course, sweating on the dance floor!

In order to win:

Leave a comment on Kelly’s blog (not mine!) and tell us about your most interesting hair and makeup experience…you know, the best haircut you’ve ever had…the funniest experience getting your makeup done, how your hair stylist saved the day, etc.

We’ll choose the winner by midnight this Friday, March 5th and will announce on Monday, March 8th. Winner will need to use the complimentary hair and makeup trial by August 31, 2010 and will need to be a bride getting married in 2010.  Winner will also need to visit Emily’s studio in Addison, TX for the hair and makeup trial.

So hop on over to the Sweet Pea Events blog for your chance to win!

And the way that I booked our photographer was probably pretty unconventional (knowing what I know now). It was completely over email. We didn’t meet our photographer until our engagement session. And since he lived out of our area, meeting him between the engagement session and wedding day was not as simple. But I have zero regrets about our wedding photographer, because he was SO AWESOME! And everyone at our wedding had a fantastic time.

But now that I think about it, it was because I didn’t know the ins and outs of hiring a wedding photographer, let alone the rest of the wedding vendors we worked with. Namely, because I had never been married, nor had I ever planned a wedding.

So since I’m guessing most brides who will come upon this post probably haven’t been married before or have never planned or contacted wedding photographers before, here are some helpful hints for getting the most out of your search.

1. Ask for referrals from recently married friends. That’s actually how I ended up finding our photographer. And it’s the best way to find out about the style and personality of the wedding photographer. Were they professional, fun, adventurous, traditional, modern, etc. Make sure you find someone whose style you LOVE. And, it will give you some insight to their price ranges.
2. Check out the photographer’s work. Read their blog. Can you get a sense of their style and personality? Is it something that you connect with, or is it not you? If it’s not you, that’s okay, it doesn’t have to be. Can you imagine yourself in the photos of the photographer? Can you imagine loving the photos fifty years from now? If the answer is “YES!” then start contacting your favorites.
3. When you send out initial inquiries, most wedding photographers will want to set up an in-person or phone meeting. My mentality (at the time) was that I just wanted to know their price point, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. However, now I know that most wedding photographers want to ensure that they are a good fit with you. Because having a good rapport with your photographer who will be documenting your day is KEY. Imagine a wedding day where you don’t trust your wedding photographer or you don’t get along. It could make for a very uncomfortable time for a very important day.
4. Narrow down your choices to three max. Make it easier on yourself. But if you’ve found the photographer that you ABSOLUTELY must have, contact them and let them know just that! We work hard to make it easy for a client to make that decision pre-meeting, and your meeting should solidify that conviction.
5. If you are ready to book your photographer, book them! Most wedding photographers book anywhere between 6 and 12 months before your wedding date, so if you know that you want a particular wedding photographer, make sure to secure your date! And when you inquire with photographers, make sure you have a date! A photographer can’t secure a maybe this date or that date, and will require a retainer to book a date. So, it’s easiest if you have a wedding date set.

I hope this post was helpful. I know that if I had known what I know now, I’d be better prepared for hiring wedding vendors. I hope this makes things easier for both brides and grooms as well as photographers!

*NOTE: This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but merely a starting point for brides and grooms. A comprehensive list would probably take up a series of posts.*

If you have any other suggestions or helpful hints, please leave them in the comments!

Happy Thursday!

what next?

1. Share this with brides you know!
2. Subscribe to our new monthly e-zine: tips from the best in the industry on creating a stress-free wedding that honors your relationship and, most importantly, building a lasting wonderful marriage.  Leave a comment below or click here to sign up.
3. See more inside scoop with other posts on wedding advice for brides & grooms here.

I now have a vague idea what it’s like to live where it snows regularly. Note: I said vague.

Last week was the first time I drove in the snow and I was pretty nervous about it. Especially when Cent told me (on a precautionary note) not to slam on the breaks or else that would cause me to fishtail. What?! Thanks. So there I was, hands gripping the steering wheel, driving between 20-30 miles an hour to the post office. Then, since I was in the area, I decided to hit up Barnes & Noble. As I was looking at books, I was also checking on Twitter. Oh life has changed since Twitter hit the scene. It was there that I heard from photographer friends about organizing a last minute shoot since it was snowing. And well, it doesn’t snow everyday in Dallas!

So big thanks to my friend Celina Gomez for getting this together super last minute, and Magaly Abbott and Valerie Valdez for joining in on the fun!

Meet Steph and Jules and their adorable wolf-sized dog, Johan.

Steph and Jules were total troopers and up for anything!

Steph and Jules, you guys killed it!

Seriously, I’m surprised Steph didn’t melt the snow!

I should have shot a video of these piggy back attempts. Hilarious!

They were all good lying in the snow, my kind of couple. Up for whatever.

Then again, they were keeping each other warm.

Steph and Jules, you two were adorable. Thanks so much for coming out at the last minute to get some snow action!

Since the ceremony was in a different location from the reception, they provided these great maps for their guests.

I loved their cake.

This was my first wedding where they had pie. So fun!

This is a clear labor of love: each stone was labeled with each guest’s name.

And I loved this: a popcorn buffet! A fun spin on the candy buffets that have been a big trend for the last year or so.

Details help set the tone, the personality, and the feeling of the wedding day. Think about all the fun things you can bring together!

Happy Thursday!

Are you looking for online inspiration for your wedding beyond The Knot?

Well good news! A brand spanking new online wedding magazine launched today! Introducing Nonpareil Magazine:

It has tons of DIY goodness, affordable, yet stylish centerpieces, and tutorials!

Another online wedding magazine that I’m a big fan of is Utterly Engaged. Having launched last year, they are now in their seventh issue:

And of course, it wouldn’t be a blog post of mine if I didn’t offer a few more blogs to peruse for inspiration and entertainment galore!

• Once Wed
• Ruffled Blog
• Snippet & Ink
• Ritzy Bee Blog
• The Broke Ass Bride
• The Knot

Happy Tuesday!

what next?

1. Share this with brides you know!
2. Subscribe to our new monthly e-zine: tips from the best in the industry on creating a stress-free wedding that honors your relationship and, most importantly, building a lasting wonderful marriage.  Leave a comment below or click here to sign up.
3. See more inside scoop with other posts on wedding advice for brides & grooms here.

Believe it or not, I still spend time reading wedding blogs. Why? Market research, of course. I love seeing what trends are in style, going out of style, and simply timeless. And no, I’m not longing to plan another wedding. Trust me, I’ll leave that to the wedding planners. But with a handful of friends springing up engaged, I thought I’d share my favorite wedding blogs.

• Southern Weddings Magazine – Real Southern wedding inspiration.
• Elizabeth Anne Designs – So much inspiration, and wedding bloggers.
• Green Wedding Shoes – Real weddings, photoshoots, trends.
• 100 Layer Cake – More real weddings and color palette inspiration.
• Inspired By This – Leila is a PR guru, and shares all kinds of inspiration.
• Wedding Chicks – Sweet deals, eye candy, and lovely real weddings.
• Blue Orchid Blog – Liene shares all kinds of useful advice for planning your wedding.
• A Practical Wedding – No-nonsense wedding advice.
• The Bride’s Cafe – Real weddings and great DIY projects.
• JL Designs – Carissa is a floral designer and shares her amazing work.

So where do I spend my time in blog land when it’s not related to weddings? It’s a mix between business and fun.

Business:

• Sage Wedding Pros – Michelle and Kelly are business dynamos teaching wedding pros how to rock their business.
• Think Splendid – Liene is a social media maven and offers great advice for how to leverage it.
• Lara Casey – She is Making Things Happen. all. the. time.
• Brand Camp Blog – Advice on beefing up your brand.

Fun:

• La Tartine Gourmande – Full of yummy food. And she translates everything to French.
• Elizabeth Anne Designs: Living – Everything outside of the wedding.
• Simply Recipes – Recipes. Recipes. Recipes.
• Dooce – Funny. Sarcastic. Awesome.
• Young House Love – Read this if you just bought a house.
• DesignSponge – DIY projects and great interior decor inspiration
• Smitten Kitchen – More food.

So, there are more, but this is what is currently living in my Google Reader. I try not to subscribe to everything, otherwise I’d inevitably be glued to my laptop. All. the. time. And Cent enjoys interacting with me every now and then.

What are your favorite blog picks?

And because a picture will spice this post up, here’s my sister’s bouquet from the wedding.

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Welcome to January. And welcome to my 365 project which you can find at http://365.catieronquillo.com!

And for a little preview of today’s post, here’s the alternate shot I took:

Say goodbye to my last piece of Red Velvet cake for the time being, to be explained in a later post this week. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in starting your own 365 project or checking out all the folks who have started a project, visit Tasra’s site at http://www.tasramar.com.

Happy Tuesday!

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So, I like the idea of intentions. An intention is a determination to do something act in a certain way.

In 2010, here are my intentions…

• Personal intention: GIVE – Spend quality time with my hubby (laptop closed/phone aside!), give back to my community through our church. Give back to myself through healthy eating (Hello veggies!) and exercise 4 times a week.
• Business intention: FOCUS & DEVELOP – Work on my business, not in it. Focus on following up and following through. Develop relationships with local wedding vendors.
• Relationship intention: CONNECTION – Check in with my parents, sister once a week to see how they are doing. Check in with extended family and friends monthly. “Do it now” instead of the “I’ll do it later” (and forget) mentality.

I’m also going to be SMART. I’ve found that writing out goals have been far more successful, especially when written in a S(pecific), M(easurable), A(ttainable), R(ealistic), T(imely) way. For an easy way to write out your goals for 2010, you can download a SMART Goal Planning Exercise PDF from Sage Wedding Pros, one of my favorite resources for wedding businesses. They also blogged their intentions for 2010, love it!

I also found a set of Goal Setting Questions for 2010 from Simple Mom. It provides a great overview of all personal life aspects.

Another great tool for setting up goals for about 3 years is out is writing a 101 in 1001 list. I reviewed my list a couple of weeks ago and it was fun to see how much progress I made and how far I’ve come since 2007. I still have a little less than a year to go, and goals to cross off the list.

What are your goals for 2010?

And for a little fun to ring in the new year, here’s a Mash Up of Billboard Top 25 Pop Hits.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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January: I joined a fitness bootcamp through Ala Vie Fitness. I woke up and started exercising before the sun rose. Crazy.

February: I attended my first WPPI Conference in Las Vegas. I met a TON of photographer friends in person and reunited with old friends too.

March: I launched this blog in it’s new and improved prettiness. Click here to see the old version.

April: I flew out to New York to hang out with my cousin Mercy in Brooklyn. I got to see her perform in a local cafe and we got Magnolia’s cupcakes. And she was my awesome assistant for an engagement shoot at the Brooklyn Bridge.

May: My mom graduated from her 18-month intensive Master’s program in Nursing Education. I attended the Fast Track Photographer Workshop.

June: I rallied in the last month-long stretch before the wedding and prepped all the last minute details. Including Martha Stewart Pom Poms.

July: We got married! After a long 16-month engagement the big day finally arrived! We went on our honeymoon in Kauai and went ziplining!

(photo by Travis Hoehne)

August: I moved into Cent’s apartment in Dallas. The long-distance part of our relationship came to a close. I went to Washington, DC for a final business trip from my full time job and shot some engagement sessions too!

September: I met and joined the Dallas Wedding Photographer community. Big props to Twitter and Facebook for the pre-move connection! We put an offer on a house.

October: I launched my website create with Showit Sites: www.catieronquillo.com!

November: I attended Pictage’s PartnerCon in New Orleans. We CLOSED on our home. First Thanksgiving with the new family. It was a tasty feast to say the least!

December: I participated in Help Portrait Dallas. We bought our first Christmas tree. We went to California for Christmas with my family. We flew down to Anaheim for a whirlwind adventure through Disneyland and California Adventure during the holidays.

And as for 2010, I know that great things are in store. Big things. Fun things. Exciting things!

Happy New Year’s Eve! This year, we’ll be ringing in the new year very low key in our new home, and toasting each other at midnight!

How are you celebrating?

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